In addition to buying the coverage for risk protection, producers who want to maintain eligibility for crop or livestock disaster programs in the county need to consider buying federal crop insurance (CI) or FSA’s Noninsurable Crop

Assistance Program (NAP) to maintain program eligibility.

For a producer to be eligible for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), all of the farming operation’s crops (planted or intended) that are of economic significance must be covered by either CI or NAP coverage.

Coverage must also be obtained for other crops for which CI or NAP is available, such as nursery, honey, aquaculture and floriculture. However, statute does not require coverage for grazed crops for the SURE.

Eligible farmers and ranchers who meet the definition of “Socially Disadvantaged,” “Limited Resource” or “Beginning” do not have to meet this requirement.

Should Phillips County meet the eligibility requirements for the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), producers must have purchased either the Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Rainfall Index (PRF-RI) insurance coverage through their crop insurance agent or the Non-Insured Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) through FSA on the grazing acres to be considered an eligible producer for the program. If a producer only elects certain acres under PRF-RI, they should consider purchasing NAP coverage to cover eligibility on all acres grazed.

NAP coverage for 2010 costs $250 per crop but not more than $750 per producer per county or not more than $1,875 total per producer for all counties.

Livestock Indemnity Program

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) compensates livestock owners and contract growers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather including losses due to hurricanes, floods, blizzards, disease, wildfires, extreme heat and extreme cold.

Livestock owners and contract growers who suffer 2009 livestock losses after July 13, 2009 must file a notice of loss within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is apparent and an application for payment no later than Jan. 30, 2010.

To be eligible for assistance under LIP, each livestock producer must provide verifiable documentation of livestock deaths. Adequate documentation must be provided that proves the death of eligible livestock occurred as a direct result of an eligible adverse weather event in the calendar year for which benefits are being requested.

The quantity and kind of livestock that died may be documented by, but is not limited to, bank or other loan documents, FEMA records, records assembled for tax purposes, National Guard records, private insurance documents, production records, property tax records, purchase records, rendering truck receipts, veterinarian records, written contracts, brand inspection records, contemporaneous producer records existing at the time of the event, dairy herd improvement records, photographs and/or vaccination records.

Certifications of livestock deaths by third parties may be accepted only when certain conditions are met.

Erroneous Notification Letters

Washington D.C. informed the office that erroneous notification letters of debts due to CCC have been sent out to producers. They are working to send out follow-up information to the affected producers. The letter was generated out of Kansas City and was sent in error. If you received a notification letter for an amount due, you do not need to respond to the letter. If you have any doubts, please bring the letter to the office for verification. Notification letters will be sent out at a later date for producers with legitimate debts due to CCC.